Black Magic — but mostly for show

If you love the Gothic symbolism of the black rose, and/or enjoy light BDSM play, these beautiful cuffs might be for you — but if you're looking for high functionality, or a reasonably-priced set of beginner cuffs, I'd suggest you keep looking.

Doc Johnson's Black Rose Kinky Kuffs are elegant light bondage gear, geared towards users who favor aesthetics over high functionality. Which is not to say that these cuffs aren't effective; they work fairly well as basic wrist restraints and also reasonably well as ankle restraints. They are quick and easy to apply, comfortable to wear, and quickly removable. However, I would not recommend these for most experienced BDSM players, or for those simply seeking functional cuffs; there are several more functional cuffs available for less on Eden. But if you like the aesthetic, and your play isn't too rough, these could be just the thing.

The symbolism of the Black Rose has a fairly long and varied history. Back when Ireland was ruled by England, it was actually illegal in that country to refer to Ireland as a separate nation. At that time, "Black Rose" was used as a code word for Ireland. More recently, anarchists have also used the black rose as a symbol. People today will most likely be familiar with the black rose from Gothic fiction, especially Shadow Souls, the second book in The Return trilogy and the sixth book in The Vampire Diaries series by L. J. Smith.

According to the product page, the cuffs are made of lace, metal, and silk. I don't believe this is entirely correct. While the outside part of the cuffs may contain silk, I believe the primary material is nylon, which is purple and detailed with a black lace pattern. The plushy inside part, which is what touches the wearer's wrists or ankles, seems to be made of a soft polyester. I found them very comfortable to wear on my wrists or ankles, although they did begin to feel a bit warm after 20 minutes or so.

The cuffs are about 2 1/2" wide by 11" long, with an additional 6" of velcro extending beyond that. I found they fit my 8" wrists with a small amount of overlap; they fit my 10" ankles even better. Each cuff has a 1 1/2" inch (inside diameter) metal ring for securing the cuffs to each other or some other restraint point. One cuff also has a swivel clip attached to the securing ring, which can be clipped to the other ring to connect the cuffs. The rings and the clip are metal with a matte black finish. The cuff with the clip attached also has the signature black rose, which protrudes about an inch above the cuff.

The cuffs, which are made in China, are mostly well-made. The stitching is solid; the materials are well-chosen for their purpose. They had a strong chemical odor when I took them out of the package. I got rid of the smell by hand-washing them in cold water with mild soap, and then letting them air dry for several hours. In the process, I managed to catch the lace detailing of one cuff on the other cuff's velcro, which frayed the lace slightly. I imagine the fraying will continue to be an issue with these. I also found the plushy inner side and the velcro both attract lint a bit.

The velcro closure provides quick, effective restraint which can also be removed quickly. The swivel clip, however, is a weakness, and the securing rings — which aren't welded closed — are also weak.

I'm no escapologist, but I was able to get out of these almost instantly, whether my wrists were clipped together in front or in back, just by operating the slide on the swivel clip. When my ankles were clipped together, I found it easy to escape simply by forcing my legs apart. That spread the securing ring enough that the clip popped out. I had thought of removing the clip anyway, but it was disappointing to find the working parts of the cuffs came apart so easily.

With each cuff secured separately to our bed restraint system with small locks, I was unable to escape them, whether they were attached to my wrists, or to my ankles. However, I could feel the rings "flexing" when I applied pressure, and I think it would be possible for someone who's better at this sort of thing to work their way out in this situation as well.

The cuffs come in a non-discreet paper box, with a picture of a nearly-naked, Gothic-looking woman wearing the cuffs on the front and one of the sides. It's clear that considerable effort went into the box's design; it has elegant raised lettering and other expensive-looking raised details. I think the box would be good for gifting to a Gothic BDSM enthusiast, but probably not for anyone else. The cuffs are wrapped in plastic inside the box.

Because the box isn't durable, and takes up a lot more space than the cuffs do on their own, I don't consider it much good for storage. I recycled it.

These are beautiful, but I'm disappointed in the performance. It would have been fairly easy to weld the securing rings closed, making the cuffs a lot more useful. I do look forward to using these more. My wife finds them more comfortable than the leather cuffs we usually use. However, I wouldn't have been satisfied with them had I paid the suggested retail price and I can recommend them only for users who really love this look, and/or the black rose symbolism.

This product was provided free of charge to the reviewer. This review is in compliance with the
FTC guidelines.

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Reviewed by
spiced(Eden Writer)Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say 'defective' — but they're not 'bombproof', either. Hey, not everyone needs (or wants) bombproof cuffs. But there are several sturdier cuffs costing half as much as these on Eden.

04/05/2013

Beautiful-Disaster

Thank you for your review.

04/05/2013

surreptitious

What a shame that in this case, they couldn't combine looks and functionality. Excellent review. =)

04/05/2013

Allstars316

Thanks for the review!

04/05/2013

Cindi025

Great review! Thx!

04/05/2013

SecretKinksters

Nice review! They're cute, but we don't go for cute when looking for cuffs.

04/06/2013

Princess-Kayla ?

Thanks for the review. It's a shame they didn't work out for you. They're really cute!

04/06/2013

spiced

@Kayla&JJ — I agree, they look GREAT, and they feel great, too. We're still going to use them, but it will be for light play only. If I ever finally do take the plunge and learn welding, maybe I'll weld the rings closed and make them 'bombproof'!